5 Students Selected in College Savings Program
Siouxland Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery is thrilled to offset the cost of higher education for five local students this year. Our Wisdom For Wisdom program provides wisdom teeth removal procedures to selected students so they can put that money toward college expenses. In addition, each student receives a scholarship in the amount of $500. Siouxland Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery’s Wisdom For Wisdom 2020 recipients are Caitlin, Marcis, Noah, Rebecca, and Sophie.
Caitlin, 17, from Sioux Falls, is a student at Lincoln High School. She lost her father in late 2019 after an 8-year battle with cancer. The close-knit family, including her three older brothers, have not had an easy life, and the family has struggled without the income of their father for the last few years. The Wisdom For Wisdom program will help her achieve her dream of attending college in San Diego and becoming an elementary school teacher.
Marcis, 18, from Estelline, just graduated from Estelline High School. In his application he said: “This has been a tough year for my parents. My brother broke his arm. My sister fainted at the fair and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I had five lung contusions from a football injury and was in the ER twice from this.” Besides football, Marcis also played in the band, was a National Honor Society student, and was on the student council. He ended his application by writing that he wants to be able to say, “I’ve got this covered Mom and Dad!”
Noah, 17, from Vermillion, is a student at Vermillion High School. In his application, he wrote that the Wisdom For Wisdom program would “help me immensely as I’m the one responsible for paying for my college tuition. I have a brother and two sisters, and my parent’s money will only go so far to help, but they have agreed to match the amount I’d save them and put it towards my goal of getting a college degree.”
Rebecca, 19, from Harrisburg, is a student at Dordt University and is studying to become an architect. She is also a student-athlete, running track. In her application, she wrote: “This global pandemic has made me realize how much I love school. I love learning, being around others, and constantly being busy. I miss the late nights with my friends trying to finish our homework before midnight and the weekends where I am surrounded by my track team at a meet. I also miss getting to know my professors and all the quirky jokes they make in the middle of their lectures. The last two months of these experiences are something that COVID took away from me, but…we all had to give up something because of this virus.”
Sophie, 22, from Sioux Falls, is a student at Augustana University. As a senior majoring in Instrumental Music Education and All-Grades Education, she said that the Wisdom For Wisdom program would help her immensely. “Being selected for this program would mean a great deal to me for a few reasons. First, being a busy college student/musician and playing woodwind instruments, there wasn’t a window of time I felt I could sacrifice to get my wisdom teeth extracted over the last 4 years (because I always needed to be able to play my instruments for lessons, ensembles, performances, etc.)” she wrote in her application. She also mentioned the program would help her save money as she enters her final semester this fall and works over 50 hours per week before receiving her teaching certificate.
Follow all five students’ wisdom teeth removal procedures on Facebook.
Learn more about wisdom teeth removal.